Device and method for removing dirt

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device for removing dirt, in particular oil, extreme dirt, etc. on a surface, in particular on a road pavement, wherein the device is integrated into a vehicle or associated with the vehicle, comprising nozzles ( 5, 9 ) for spraying cleaning liquid onto the area, brushes ( 3, 12 ) for mechanically treating the soiled area, and a suction apparatus ( 6 ) for suctioning the emulsion containing the removed dirt. Said device is designed and further developed in such a way that the cleaning liquid can be heated using the waste heat of the vehicle by means of a heat exchanger ( 2 ) in order to achieve a low use of cleaning liquid and a mode of operation that is gentle to surfaces and at the same time the least possible energy requirement.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage application, filed under 35 U.S.C. §371, of International Application No. PCT/DE2011/001234, filed Jun. 7, 2011, which claims priority to German Application No. 10 2010 023 311.0, filed Jun. 10, 2010 and German Application No. 10 2010 024 500.3, filed Jun. 21, 2010, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to a device for removing dirt, particularly oil, extreme soiling, etc., on a surface, particularly a road surface, with the device being integrated in or allocated to a vehicle, comprising nozzles for spraying cleaning liquids, brushes for a mechanical processing of the soiled surface, and a suction device for suctioning off the emulsion containing the dissolved dirt.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for removing dirt, particularly oil, extreme soiling, etc., on a surface, particularly a road surface.

2. Description of Related Art

Soiled roads pose a very high risk for accidents, particularly when they are soiled with oil or similar substances, which are applied on the road surface, for example, by vehicles involved in an accident. After traffic accidents it is therefore necessary to remove any potential soiling as quickly and thoroughly as possible so that the road surface can be once more released for traffic. In factory halls or parking garages it is also necessary to repeatedly clean larger areas from soiling caused by machines or vehicles.

Devices and methods for cleaning dirt according to the type mentioned at the outset are known in practice. Here, reference is made to DE 43 35 117 C2 as an example. In methods of prior art, first a chemical binder and fresh water are applied on the soiled area. The binder-water compound is then rubbed into the surface with brushes, and then it is supplied via a suctioning device to a waste water tank. This cleaning method is called wet scrubbing.

From prior art, additionally pressure washing machines are known, which apply a concentrated water-cleaning solution on the soiled surface under high pressure, in order to release the dirt this way. Then, the waste water is suctioned off the area via a suction device.

The wet scrubbing method is disadvantageous in that in practice usually several processing steps are required to reach a satisfactory cleaning result. The high consumption of concentrated cleaning solution is also disadvantageous, which leads to extreme environmental contamination. When cleaning areas via pressure washing, it is problematic that this method needs large amounts of water. This leads to high disposal costs for the developing waste water and a short range of operation for the cleaning vehicles. In this method it is additionally disadvantageous that by the high water pressure the surface to be cleaned may be damaged.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention is therefore based on the objective to provide a device and a method for removing soiling of the type mentioned at the outset equipped and further developed such that with a small amount of cleaning liquid the removal of soiling is possible while using small amounts of cleaning solution and a gentle treatment of the surface, with as little energy as possible being consumed.

The above-stated objective is attained in the features of the claims. Accordingly, the generic device for removing soiling from an area is characterized such that the cleaning liquid can be heated via heat exchangers utilizing the exhaust heat of the vehicle.

The above-stated objective is further attained in a corresponding method claim.

According to the invention, it has first been recognized that by heating the cleaning liquid a largely reduced amount is sufficient. Additionally, it has been recognized according to the invention that no external heat source is required to heat the cleaning liquid, but the exhaust heat of the vehicle is sufficient to bring the cleaning solution to the required temperature. Here, the advantage develops that no energy must be provided to operate a separate heating device for the cleaning liquid. In particular it is possible to operate the device according to the invention at temperatures below freezing without adding any antifreeze means to the cleaning liquid. Another advantage is given in the fact that by using warm cleaning liquid in connection with the conventional wet scrubbing method the soiling can be removed from the surface in a gentle fashion. The low amount of cleaning liquid leads to lower disposal expenses and a wide range of application for the device according to the invention.

Advantageously, for heating the cleaning liquid, depending on the type of vehicle, the thermal energy of the cooling water and/or the exhaust of the vehicle can be utilized. This way, warm water is provided quickly so that the removal of soiling is possible regardless of the exterior temperatures. The energy costs for heating the cleaning liquid are entirely omitted.

Depending on the soiling given, either the use of water or a mixture of water and cleaning liquid is advantageous in terms of the cleaning solution. Particularly when cleaning oil slicks it is beneficial to add an oil-dissolving tenside to the cleaning liquid.

Advantageously the device for spraying preheated cleaning liquid comprises a spray device, which includes several nozzles, wherein the nozzles can be controlled individually. This way it is possible to dissolve the dirt prior to any mechanical cleaning. By the individual control of the separate nozzles they can be adjusted to severely soiled sections in a targeted fashion.

In a particularly advantageous fashion the brushes for a mechanical processing of the soiled area include outlet nozzles, through which it is spray coated with the preheated cleaning liquid. This embodiment allows a particularly gentle cleaning of the surface with a low consumption of cleaning liquid and thus low disposal costs. The added warm cleaning liquid is gently rubbed into the soiled surface using brushes. This way, any soiling, particularly oil, is effectively removed mechanically from the road surface.

For removing extremely tough soiling, high pressure nozzles are provided to apply the cleaning liquid under high pressure, which nozzles being embodied as wide-jet nozzles. The wide-jet nozzles are operated by a pressure pump. The pressure pump allows a quick filling and/or emptying of the device with cleaning liquid.

Advantageously the suction device can be lowered automatically to the area to be processed so that it is not necessary for the operator of the device to concentrate on this task. This way, the risk for accidents is reduced, which increases with the number of tasks to be performed by the operator.

With regard to an efficient cleaning of edge sections, such as curbs, individually controlled front and side nozzles are provided. This way the device is also suitable for operation within city limits, were particularly after traffic accidents frequently the curb and narrow sidewalks require cleaning as well.

In order to reduce the amount of cleaning liquid consumed to the extent possible, a circuit may be provided, by which any unused, preheated cleaning solution can be returned into a reservoir. This considerably increases the range of the device.

Furthermore it is advantageous to provide a manual lance with a hose reel so that areas hard to access can be cleaned manually. After traffic accidents frequently not only the road is soiled but also guardrails, for example, or other hard-to-clean objects. They can quickly and reliably be cleaned using the manual lance. In order to allow collecting the emulsion containing the dissolved soiling in a manner as easily and timely as possible it is further advantageous for a manually operated dome to be provided to suction hard-to-access areas.

After traffic accidents it is common that rescue crews apply granular oil binders on oil spills. Accordingly it is advantageous to provide a separate frontal sweeping device, in order to collect coarse dirt, such as granular oil binders, shards, etc. It is particularly advantageous for the sweeping device to collect the solid substances prior to the actual wet scrubbing and separately storing them so that they can be disposed of separated from the other waste, such as waste water.

Furthermore, it is possible to provide separate lateral brushes at a front sweeping device, in order to allow edgeless sweeping. This way, for example, the transition areas between the road and the curb can be cleaned.

In a particularly beneficial manner separate lateral brushes are provided with lateral pre-spraying nozzles so that an edgeless wet scrubbing is possible in the lateral areas.

In order to save cleaning liquid, a recycling system shall be provided, which reprocesses the suctioned cleaning solution containing the soiling to such an extent that it can be reused. This leads to cost savings and considerably reduced environmental contamination.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are various options to embody and further develop the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous manner. For this purpose, reference is made on the one side to the dependent claims and on the other side to the following explanation of an exemplary embodiment of the invention using the drawing. The drawing shows the only FIGURE of the device according to the invention in a schematic front view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

The only FIGURE shows, in a schematic front view, the device according to the invention for cleaning soiling, which is integrated in or allocated to a vehicle, not shown. In this exemplary embodiment, water is used as the cleaning liquid, though here any other type of known cleaning solution may also be used, or a mixture of various liquids.

The cleaning water is stored in a tank (1) and is supplied via a line to the heat exchanger (2). The heat exchanger (2) uses the thermal energy of the cooling water and/or the exhaust of the vehicle to heat the cleaning water. The warm water is then fed via lines to the brushes (3) or the high pressure pump (4), which can be switched on additionally. The high pressure pump (4) provides several high pressure nozzles (5) with pressurized warm water. Depending on the type and degree of soiling, the operator selects the brushes (3) and/or the high pressure nozzles (5) in order to clean the surface.

The waste water containing the released dirt is suctioned off the area via a suction device (6), driven by a suction turbine (7), and guided into a recycling system (8). Here, the waste water is cleaned and the cleaned water is returned into the tank (1). Here, it shall be mentioned that any warm water not required can also be returned via a line, not shown, from the heat exchanger (2) directly into the tank (1).

Prior to using the brushes (3) or the high pressure nozzles (5), preheated cleaning liquid can be sprayed from the heated pre-spray tank (11) via a spray device (10) comprising several nozzles (9) onto the soiled surface in order to dissolve the dirt. The pre-spray tank (11) may either comprise a separate heating device or be connected to the heat exchanger (2).

Lateral brushes (12) with integrated pre-spraying nozzles are provided in the external edge section of the device so that even edgeless wet scrubbing of the surface is possible.

Coarse contaminants, such as granular oil binders, are guided via a circular sweeper (13) to the debris container (14). The content of the debris container (14) may be disposed of separately, thus reducing the disposal costs.

With regards to additional features not discernible from the figures, reference is made to the general part of the description in order to avoid repetitions.

Finally it shall be mentioned that the above-discussed exemplary embodiment only serves as an example to explain the device according to the invention, without limitations to said exemplary embodiment, however.

LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS

1 Tank

2 Heat exchanger

3 Brushes

4 High-pressure pump

5 High-pressure nozzles

6 Suction device

7 Suction turbine

8 Recycling system

9 Nozzles

10 Spraying device

11 Pre-spraying tank

12 Lateral brushes

13 Circular sweeper

14 Debris container 

1-16. (canceled)
 17. A device for removing dirt, particularly oil, extreme soiling, etc., on a surface, particularly a road surface, with the device being at least one of integrated in and allocated to a vehicle, wherein the device comprises: nozzles (5, 9) to spray a cleaning liquid on the surface; brushes (3, 12) for a mechanical processing of a soiled portion of the surface; and a suction device (6) for suctioning off the emulsion containing the dissolved dirt, wherein: the cleaning liquid can be heated via heat exchangers (2) using the exhaust heat of the vehicle; and the heat exchanger (2) utilizes the thermal energy of the exhaust of the vehicle.
 18. A device according to claim 17, wherein the heat exchanger (2) uses the thermal energy of the cooling water of the vehicle.
 19. A device according to claim 17, wherein the cleaning liquid is water.
 20. A device according to claim 17, wherein the cleaning liquid is a mixture of water and cleaning solution.
 21. A device according to claim 17, further comprising a spraying device (10) for spraying pre-heated cleaning liquid, the spraying device comprising several nozzles (9), each being individually controllable.
 22. A device according to claim 17, wherein the outlet nozzles are provided to spray pre-heated cleaning liquid onto the brushes (3, 12).
 23. A device according to claim 17, wherein high-pressure nozzles (5) are provided for applying cleaning liquid under high pressure.
 24. A device according to claim 23, wherein said high-pressure nozzles comprise wide-jet nozzles.
 25. A device according to claim 17, wherein the suction device (6) is adjustable, such that it is configured to be lowered automatically to the area to be processed.
 26. A device according to claim 17, further comprising individually controlled front and lateral nozzles configured to clean edge sections.
 27. A device according to claim 17, further comprising a circuit by which any unused preheated cleaning liquid can be returned into the reservoir (1).
 28. A device according to claim 17, further comprising a hand lance with a hose reel, the hand lance and the hose reel being configured for a manual cleaning of hard-to-access areas.
 29. A device according to claim 17, further comprising a manually operated dome configured to suction off hard-to-access areas.
 30. A device according to claim 17, further comprising a separate front sweeping device to sweep up coarse dirt.
 31. A device according to claim 17, further comprising lateral brushes to allow an edgeless sweeping.
 32. A device according to claim 17, further comprising lateral brushes (12) having lateral pre-spraying nozzles to allow an edgeless wet scrubbing.
 33. A device according to claim 17, wherein a recycling system (8) is provided to allow processing suctioned, contaminated cleaning liquid so that it can be reused.
 34. A method for removing dirt, particularly oil, extreme soiling, etc., on an area, particularly a road surface, said method using a device according to claim
 17. 